RoD Chapter 1

The young pup emerged from the stony overhang into the early-morning sunlight. The sun glinted off his dusky orange pelt, accenting his skinny form. A yawn broke across his maw as he turned and looked back into the shadows. “Come on Gannon!” he called out, wiggling with impatience. “We need to eat before the pack wakes up or we’re gonna miss breakfast!” At his words, a smaller silver pup emerged and trudged over to him. Gannon looked half-asleep as the orange pup hurried him across the camp to the logs where prey was stored. Quickly, they pulled off some meat and headed back to their den, but they weren’t quick enough. A female wolf emerged from her den right in front of them. They swerved to avoid her but weren’t quite fast enough. She kicked out at the passing pups, catching Gannon on the hip. Gannon stumbled from the impact and dropped his meat. He didn’t have time to retrieve it though, and hurried on to avoid getting kicked again. Cainu glanced over his shoulder as they ran away and saw the female pick up the meat, taking it back into the den to eat it. He growled under his breath at the indignity and unfairness. They took refuge under the overhang where their mom was waiting for them. She licked Gannon encouragingly on the head, having seen what happened. “Here’s some breakfast for you mom.” The orange pup said cheerfully. She smiled at him and divided the meat into three portions, giving larger pieces to the pups and only taking a couple small mouthfuls for herself. The pups dove in hungrily, devouring the meal in a matter of moments. After they finished, they walked over to the edge of their den and watched the camp waking up. “Why can’t we go out of camp?” the orange pup asked without turning around. “The other pups can go out.”

“I lost the pack’s trust a long time ago.” His mother told him, gazing softly at the back of his head. “And because of that, you are also paying the price. An Omega cannot leave camp. You know that.” Her head flicked up and she spotted Filtiarn’s grey shape emerging from the large den in the entrance to the camp. She shifted nervously and the orange pup turned to look at her, having heard her movement. He stood and snuggled up to her legs, realizing she was uncomfortable but not fully understanding why. She licked him softly in gratitude as a masculine voice cut across camp.

“Caerwyn!” At the sound of the name all three heads in the den snapped up. Caerwyn sighed and rose awkwardly.

“Fil calls.” She said softly, referring to the alpha by the nickname that the pack used but never called him to his face. “Stay with Gannon, Cainu.” She told the orange pup, looking down at him. “Do not leave the den and I’ll be back soon.”

“But Momma!” Cainu whined, moving to block her. “You never get to spend time with us! I’ll do your work today! You rest so we can play later!”

“Move Cainu.” Caerwyn sighed. “I have to report to Fil.” When Cainu stood his ground, looking up at her indignantly, she reached down and picked him up by the scruff, tossing him to a soft area in the back of the shallow den. He scrambled to his paws and glared at his mother. “Stay with Gannon.” She repeated sharply, glaring right back to challenge him to argue. Cainu whined softly, but lowered his head to let her know he would obey. His tail was tucked and his whole body radiated with an aura of unhappiness. Caerwyn nodded and moved off, limping from an old injury in her shoulder that had never quite healed right.

 

Cainu emerged into the predawn light. In the darkness his bright pelt turned brown and he used this to his advantage, scurrying over to the logs where he would blend in well. He had decided to let Gannon sleep in this morning. He removed some meat quickly with practiced ease and ran it back to the den to share. Arriving silently, he ripped off his portion, taking it to the entrance to eat it. He chewed in content silence, proud of himself for not getting caught while fetching breakfast for the second week straight, a new record for him. He had just finished when he heard someone shifting behind him and he turned. “Morning mom!” he called out softly into the gloom. Her eyes reflected what little light there was as she rose and joined him.

“Waiting for the sunrise?” she asked softly, sitting on his right so he couldn’t see her bad shoulder.

“Mhmm.” He said with a nod. “I love all the colors.” Caerwyn just chuckled and licked him on the ear. They sat in silence for a while, watching the sky change colors. “Mom?” Cainu said softly to get her attention. “I know our rank has something to do with Dad, but what really happened?” By this point the pack was stirring and many of them had begun gathering below the announcement stone. It appeared there was going to be a meeting.

Caerwyn looked down at him with sadness in her eyes, removing her concentration from the rest of the camp. “I guess you’re old enough to be told now since you’re at the age where you would go through your demon ceremony.” Cainu’s ears flicked back at the mention of the ceremony all pups went through exactly 8 moons after they were born. No one had explained it to him but he had figured out just by watching that somehow Fil made the pup’s demon appear so they could start training. She sighed, turning to look back out at the horizon completely unaware of her son’s wandering thoughts. “One thing you have to understand about the pack is that keeping the bloodline pure is very important to them. When I took your father Talmarik, a demonless wolf, as a mate, I diluted the bloodline and betrayed their trust. For an officer to betray the beliefs of the pack the way I did… Well to them it was if I had betrayed each wolf individually. It is only natural that they would demote me to an Omega rank.” She looked down at Cainu, who was looking up at her in shocked horror as he understood what she left unsaid and was realizing that he wasn’t supposed to have been born. Caerwyn smiled comfortingly at him and licked him on the ear. “I will say this.” She began. “I have never once regretted my decision. You and Gannon are my treasures and I would gladly pay the price again to have you two. I have made my choice and I will not regret it.” Cainu just nodded and leaned into her shoulder, enjoying her warmth. He made a promise to himself then that he would do whatever it took to make his mother proud. He owed her at least that much.

“Caerwyn!” Fil’s voice cut across the camp and both heads snapped up, ears perked. Cainu thought he heard his mother mutter something about never getting a moment of peace but before he could ask her to repeat it Fil spoke again. The alpha was sitting on the announcement stone and the pack was at his paws. All eyes were on their den. “Come forward Caerwyn. It is time for the Omega Pups to go through their Demon Ceremony.”

“Speak of the devil and he shall appear.” Caerwyn said under her breath as she turned to wake Gannon. She then led the two pups to stand before Fil. She signaled for them to sit and sat silently behind them since, as omegas, they were not generally permitted to speak at meetings.

“Caerwyn, by taking a demonless wolf as your mate, you diluted our bloodlines and weakened the pack. Without pure blood there is a chance that your pups may have been born without demons. But even so, the chance still remains that they did get a demon. Today, we will find out for sure. It is time for them to go through their demon ceremony, as all pups do at the age of eight moons. If it turns out that either one did somehow manage to get a demon they will begin training immediately because despite their low rank, an untrained wolf will easily fall prey to the demon within. If they do not have demons as is likely, they will instead immediately begin their work as omegas. They are old enough now so it is time for them to stop living off our hospitality.” Cainu shifted with excitement at Fil’s words. He could not have asked for better. The moment he decided to make his mother proud, he was given the opportunity to do just that.

He heard pawsteps and turned, seeing the elders in the pack stepping forward, forming a circle around Gannon and himself as Caerwyn backed away to sit outside the circle. He had known this would happen, but he had no idea what was going to happen next. It had never been explained to him. He was standing there, thinking about all of this when a huge weight suddenly crashed down on him. Nothing had changed. The elders were still standing there, but Cainu now struggled to stand. His lips curled, revealing his teeth unknowingly as he fought to keep on his paws. The moments stretched into what seemed to be an eternity. Cainu’s eyes flicked to Fil, still on the rock and he realized that Fil’s eyes were a pale ice blue. Shocked by the sudden change, Cainu collapsed to his knees and his muzzle made contact with the ground. Pathetic. It was just a whisper, but Cainu heard it as clearly as if it had been a shout. He let out a soft gasp and his ears flicked forward. In that same moment, the pressure was released and he found he could stand again. He rose shakily to his paws and saw Gannon watching him. Gannon looked as shaken as he felt, but both were standing. Cainu’s eyes zeroed in on Gannon’s shoulder and he let out a gasp, this one of pleased surprise. A black mark had appeared on Gannon’s shoulder and Cainu knew what that meant. Gannon had inherited a demon. He smiled at his brother, still unsure if he could talk or not because they were still Omegas.

“How unexpected that the two half-breeds would not only inherit demons, but that the marks would appear so quickly.” Filtiarn’s voice sounded above them and Cainu looked up. Did that mean he had a demon too? His tail started wagging without him thinking about it and he wondered what his own mark looked like since he had not seen it yet. Fil met Cainu’s eyes and glared down at him, his gaze hard and unforgiving. In that moment Cainu was reminded that he was an omega and he was not in a position to meet the alpha’s eyes. His tail immediately tucked between his legs and his ears flicked back to lay flat against his head. He dipped his head and whimpered just loud enough for Gannon to hear. His brother glanced over at him and he shook his head before looking back up at Fil, careful to avoid eye contact this time. Fil was still scowling but had lifted his head, and his eyes had settled on a young male in the pack that Cainu always took great pains to avoid. “Lalan, step forward!” Fil called out across the camp as the pack parted to let the wolf pass.

The dark blue-grey striped male was twice the size of either Cainu or Gannon, and he scoffed at them as he passed. He sat down off to the left of the brothers so they could both easily see the bright red flames on his own shoulder, his sigil. “What do you need of me Filtiarn?” he asked respectfully as his tail swept across the grass. A few sparks came from the tip, singing the vegetation it touched. No wolf reacted. It was a common thing that fire types did. Their wild personalities caused them to show off often. He made it a point to look only at Fil and avoid any eye contact with Cainu or Gannon.

Fil looked down at him and nodded. “Lalan, you are technically too young to train any pups, but you always excelled throughout your training and you show promise. Calder, our Gamma, has agreed with me that you deserve a chance to prove yourself. You will train these young pups to fight and, more importantly, teach them to control their demons. If you prove able in training them, you will be given a proper trainee afterwards.”

Lalan turned and glared at Cainu, who shrank in his pelt. He knew from past experience that Lalan in particular hated him and his brother because they were half breeds and he often went out of his way to bully the two. Cainu turned to face Fil once more, avoiding Lalan’s hostile gaze as he waited for the young male to reply to Fil’s orders. After a few seconds he heard Lalan speak again. “Of course, Filtiarn. I would love nothing more than to serve my pack. I will train these two to the best of my ability.”

Fil nodded once in acceptance to Lalan’s words. “I look forward to seeing your progress.”  Cainu noticed how Fil didn’t say anything about his or Gannon’s progress, just Lalan’s, but he was starting to get used to it. Once he had finished speaking, Fil turned and walked off the announcement stone, releasing the pack. Everyone immediately dispersed, leaving the brothers and Caerwyn alone at the base with Lalan.

Lalan turned and stalked over to the two brothers, now glaring freely at them. He growled and sank his teeth into Cainu’s brand new sigil, lifting the pup off the ground and tossing him aside. He then leapt forward and kicked Gannon so he flew and landed next to Cainu. “Listen you two worthless piles of meat.” He growled standing over them as Caerwyn stood nearby, unable to do anything to stop the canine. “I don’t want to do this, but I will do anything to advance my rank so I took the job of babysitting you worthless furballs. But be warned, if you embarrass me by setting so much as a toe out of line, I will have your muzzles so fast you won’t even have the chance to run.” His threat completed, Lalan stalked away, leaving Cainu and Gannon to rise painfully to their paws.

Once he was gone, Caerwyn hurried over to the two of them and led them back to the den. She told them to lay low for now while she went and did her work as an omega. She promised them that she would bring dinner since they had a hard day of training ahead and then they would all go to sleep early. The boys agreed easily, still dazed from the ceremony. By the time they had recovered enough to even consider acting up she was long gone.